Your Highness

http://www.yourhighnessmovie.net/

As you may have read in my review of Red Riding Hood, I was supposed to see a different film the night I saw that. The film I was meant to see was Your Highness. I actually ended up seeing Your Highness the next day so there wasn't a huge wait involved.

I had a mixture of emotions towards the trailer, I like Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel and James Franco but I hadn't seen Danny McBride in anything before (nothing that had made an impression anyway), so I didn't know if he was any good? The film also seemed to be something of a spoof and I don't really like spoof films (Scary Movie and Hot Shots are not really my cup of tea). But then I thought, maybe, it might turn out to be like The Princess Bride, a parody of classic medieval swashbucklers. It has actors I like, and the the trailer did make me laugh at least once. All this combined made me decide that Your Highness would be a go.

A comedy of two brothers, one handsome and noble, Fabious (Franco)

and one who's...not so much, Thadeous (McBride) who are thrown together when

Fabious' bride to be, Belladonna (Deschanel), is stolen from him during the wedding ceremony 

by the evil sorcerer Leezar (Theroux). 

Whilst on the quest they meet the fearless and beautiful Isabel (Porman)

who Thadeous takes a shine to. Thus making him step up and become a hero like his brother. Something he hopes will impress her.

My mixed emotions towards the trailer continue even now towards the finished film. McBride is perfect for the role of Thadeous, but that doesn't mean that he's particularly good. It just means that he fits the role of being rather annoying and not all that funny. What is funny though, is that the lack of comedy can be largely blamed on McBride as he co-wrote the script. 

I was also quite disappointed with the way Zooey Deschanel's character was portrayed as a simpleton. There are other, more effective ways to get laughs, boys! Surprisingly though, I loved Natalie Portman's participation in the film. After she played such a serious role in Black Swan it was nice to see her do something silly which she seemed like she had a lot of fun doing. Which just leaves me to comment on Franco and Theroux. Franco is good but nothing special and Theroux just leaves you feeling a little bit dirty. I'm not sure if that's what the filmmakers were going for but it's not pleasant.

All in all, an OK film but not tremendously funny - the best bits are in the trailer - and certainly not the new Princess Bride. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 16th April 2011

UK Release Date - 13th April 2011

Cast Overview:

Danny McBride ~ Thadeous

James Franco ~ Fabious

Natalie Portman ~ Isabel

Justin Theroux ~ Leezar

Zooey Deschanel ~ Belladonna

Rasmus Hardiker ~ Courtney

Toby Jones ~ Julie

Charles Dance ~ King Tallious

Damian Lewis ~ Boremont

Director ~ David Gordon Green

Writer(s) ~ Danny McBride and Ben Best

Red Riding Hood

http://redridinghood.warnerbros.com/

I'd been looking forward to Red Riding Hood since I saw the first trailer which included the words 'From the Director of Twilight'. It showed stunning visuals of trailing red capes across snow covered mountains and forests, lots of steamy sexual tension and a love triangle. My inner 12 year old (who is also a not so hidden Twilight fan) was squeeing with delight.

As it turned out, I wasn't meant to see Red Riding Hood on opening night, some point over the weekend for sure, but not opening night. I was meant to be seeing Your Highness, but the timing didn't work out and so Red Riding Hood it was. I wasn't fussed really as I wanted to see both films. Maybe Red Riding Hood slightly more owing to the Twilight fan within who was still squeeing away.

So off we went, my best friend, my cinema buddy and I. My best friend having already devoured the book of the film. Yes I did say book of the film. Rather than the other way around. Not that Red Riding Hood is completely new of course. It's based loosely on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood who goes to visit grandma only to find that grandma has been eaten by the big bad wolf. Here Red is named Valerie. She lives in a small village and is in love with Peter, a woodcutter like Valerie's father. Knowing the life of a woodcutters wife, Valerie's mother has arranged for her to marry Henry, who's wealth will secure a good future for Valerie. If only this was the only drama going on in the village. But no! They also have to endure the monthly terror of the wolf that means they have to regularly sacrifice their best livestock to ensure it leaves the inhabitants alone. Until one day when the wolf kills an innocent girl, and the villagers decide it's time to end the wolf once and for all.

While watching the film I couldn't help but think it was a great coincidence that Catherine Hardwicke's next venture - after being replaced as the director of New Moon - was a film involving warewolves. It's as if she wanted to say "this is how I'd have done wolves, if I'd been allowed". And although I'm not New Moon's biggest fan I'm relieved she didn't do it. The wolves looked similar enough to the Twilight wolves that there was no cosmetic differences. Therefore I can't see what else Catherine would have brought to the film that Chris Weisz didn't. Other than dodgy wobbly hand held camera work (to indicate a watching wolf) which frankly I don't think New Moon particularly missed out on.

The acting was decent enough by the seasoned members of the cast - Burke, Christie and Oldman - but the script let them all down so much that you couldn't really say it was great. They simply did what they could with the material at hand. A pity then that the leading lady felt the need to let them all down even further with her truly terrible performance. She had one expression through the entire movie.

Shocked:

Upset:

Confused:

Afraid:

All emotions shared this same expression. I'm sure you'll agree that they're variations on a theme. 

While I'm not Seyfried's biggest fan I think I'd go so far as to say this was her worst performance to date. I can't say for sure that had she been better, the film would have been too, but I'm sure it would have helped. Cast wise, this leaves newcomers Fernandez and Irons and while both are admittedly very pretty, it wasn't enough to save the film from being a dreary, laughable mess.

My friend who'd read the book thought the film was quite good, so maybe it was just me. Or maybe the script doesn't seem so shocking if you've read the book? Either way, I'd say that this is not the kick off to the big summer movies I was hoping it would be. Rather it's one to avoid, at least if you've not read the book. 5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 15th April 2011

UK Release Date - 15th April 2011

Cast Overview:

Amanda Seyfried ~ Valerie 

Billy Burke ~ Cesaire

Virginia Madsen ~ Suzette

Julie Christie ~ Grandmother

Shiloh Fernandez ~ Peter

Max Irons ~ Henry

Gary Oldman ~ Father Solomon

Lukas Haas ~ Father Auguste

Director ~ Catherine Hardwicke

Writer ~ David Johnson

Killing Bono

http://www.killingbono.co.uk/

I am openly admitting that I follow a Ben Barnes fansite on twitter. I don't care. I think he's reasonably hot, I wanted info on his upcoming films. I'm not ashamed.

Owing to my following of said fansite (@benbarnesonline if you want to follow them too) I've known about Killing Bono for some time. The more I read about the fans who got to be extras in the film, behind the scenes stories etc the more I wanted to see it. Not just because Ben's in it and he's reasonably hot.

As the film wasn't showing at Cineworld (my cinema of choice due to my membership there), I convinced my cinema buddy, who handily has one of those Odeon Premiere Club Cards, to come to the Odeon and watch it with me. I wasn't sure it'd be his cup of tea but sure enough, being the kind person and good friend that he is, he agreed to accompany me to the film.

Killing Bono is based on the book 'Killing Bono: I was Bono's Doppelganger' by Neil McCormick. It's based on the true-ish story of Neil and Ivan McCormick who went to school with the members of U2, Bono, The Edge et al. Ivan (Sheehan) auditioned for a place in the band before they were U2 and would have gladly been snapped up by Bono if it hadn't been for older brother Neil (Barnes), who prevented this by telling Bono that Ivan would rather stay with him and form their own band. This was only a half truth as Ivan knew nothing of the offer and simply stayed with Neil because he thought he'd been unsuccessful at getting into U2.

The film follows Neil's attempts to match the success of U2 and shows how he always seems to distroy his own (and Ivan's) future. 

I think this film was really well cast. All of the songs were ably performed by the cast members who played 'Shook Up' (the McCormick's band). I haven't heard the original recordings by the band but I'd wager that the cast versions improve a great deal on the originals. I also think the casting of Barnes in the lead role was a smart move as his character is not the most likable, but Barnes being his usual charismatic self puts his charm to good use and wins you over. I have no qualms with the rest of the cast, Sheehan in particular puts in an excellent performance, but then his is the much easier part to like as Ivan is the wronged party. It's sad to see the final performance of the much loved and missed Pete Postlethwaite but his fans can breathe a sigh of relief that his final film/role is a fine end to his career. 

The only failing for me is Barnes' accent.* For the most part it was fine but there were moments it let him down. I felt the same when he attempted to be Spanish in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (which is why I assume the makers of the sequel 'forgot' his character was supposed to be Spanish?). This either means that Barnes has a hard time nailing accents or that his voice coaches aren't all that. Either way, it wasn't enough to ruin the film, just a little niggly for anyone who notices.

An enjoyable comedy filled with the stuff of rock legend. 7 out of 10.  

*A late amendment to the review: I have just found out that Ben Barnes did not have a voice coach on this film - they couldn't afford one - so the accent was all his work and something he did for the entire shoot. This has made me re-think my harsh critique of his Irish accent. Sorry Ben. Though I still don't forgive Caspian! ;0)

Viewing Date - 7th April 2011

UK Release Date - 1st April 2011

Cast Overview:

Ben Barnes ~ Neil McCormick

Robert Sheehan ~ Ivan McCormick

Krysten Ritter ~ Gloria

Pete Postlethwaite ~ Karl

Justine Waddell ~ Danielle

Peter Serafinowicz ~ Hammond

Martin McCann ~ Bono

Director ~ Nick Hamm

Writer(s) ~ Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais and Simon Maxwell (Screenplay), Ben Bond (Additional Writing) and Neil McCormick (Novel)

Submarine

http://warp.net/films/submarine

I'd read lots of good things about this independent british movie. But I rarely believe what I read, especially when the 'reviews' come from places like Cineworld magazine. Which, let's face it, just wants to get bums on seats. Instead I sought the advice of my former housemate, who was the only person I knew who'd seen the film.

I was glad I did because she was honest as ever and I value her thoughts in such matters. She basically told me not to expect too much from Submarine. So I didn't. I think my tactic worked well as the low expectations made me like the film, which I'm not sure I would if I'd gone in expecting greatness.

The film has quite a basic premise, british film about a boy who wants to lose his cherry. But there's a lot more to Submarine than will fit into a brief synopsis. The protagonist here is Oliver Tate (Roberts), who does indeed have a deep desire to call Jordana Bevan (Page), the slightly dangerous loner girl from his school, his girlfriend. And yes, he would quite like to loose his virginity in the process. Along the way Oliver experiences all manner of family dramas.

This is where I felt the film stumbled on its path to greatness. If it had been a quirky coming of age film that would have been fine. Or an off-beat comedy. Or a gritty british drama that dealt with real issues, that would have been fine too. But it doesn't work when it's trying to be all three categories wrapped into one period piece. 

Ultimately the film doesn't know what it wants to be. Or if it does, it's aimed too high and overshot itself. The mish-mash created doesn't really work on all levels. It goes from being hilariously laugh out loud funny to confronting weighty issues like infidelity and cancer. This makes for uncomfortable moments of not knowing whether it's supposed to be ironic - and therefore funny - or if it's being serious.

Despite the film's identity crisis, the one thing it really has going for it are the performances. Craig Roberts does the Welsh proud. He may be unknown now, but great things lie in the future of this young man. He's the glue that holds this film together and is a joy to watch. The rest of the cast are all perfect in their respective roles, with special mention to Noah Taylor as I've always liked him since he did Secrets - a most underrated Australian film which also starred Dannii Minogue (don't judge unless you've seen it) - and here he does a wonderful job of having 'the talk' with Oliver. 

Taking this into account makes it all the more unfortunate as I think the film would have fired on all cylinders in one genre, but as all three it doesn't really succeed. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 5th April 2011

UK Release Date - 18th March 2011

Cast Overview:

Craig Roberts ~ Oliver Tate

Yasmin Page ~ Jordana Bevan

Noah Taylor ~ Lloyd Tate

Sally Hawkins ~ Jill Tate

Paddy Considine ~ Graham

Director ~ Richard Ayoade

Writer(s) ~ Richard Ayoade (Screenplay) and Joe Dunthorne (Novel)

Source Code

http://www.enterthesourcecode.com/

Here it is. The review that makes or breaks me as a credible, non-biased, professional film reviewer. Holy crap that's a lot of pressure.

My regular readers (or anyone who knows me) will know that the reason this review carries so much weight, is that I have an undeniable, ever present love of Jake Gyllenhaal. Not a crush. Lets not belittle this. It's an all consuming adoration. He is perfect to me. Always has been, always will be. I met him once for all of 5 seconds. It was the most magical 5 seconds of my life.

So now that you understand my affliction, maybe you understand why this review is going to be my defining moment. If I'm too biased I will never be a real, honest to goodness film reviewer. But how can I not be biased when I'm talking about Jake and his perfection? Let me tell you about the film and I'll deal with that conundrum afterwards.

The Source Code of the title is a device which allows a person to cross over into another's identity in the last 8 minutes of their life. There's a very specific explanation of the 'hows' and 'whys' of this in the movie, which I wouldn't want to attempt to re-iterate coz I'd probably get it wrong. The 'hows' and 'whys' aside, the guinea pig here is Captain Colter Stevens who has been placed in the body of a passenger on a train, which explodes 8 minutes later, just as he was getting to grips with what was going on. Capt Stevens mission is to be injected into this re-created scenario, over and over, until he discovers who bombed the train. The outcome of this discovery is to stop a further explosion planned for later that day by the same bomber. In a nutshell, the film is kinda like Groundhog Day crossed with Quantum Leap.

Sound confusing? Well it's really not as confusing as I've made it sound. The film is well timed and explains the technical stuff in a way which sheds light, but doesn't blind you with the science. You find yourself understanding it without feeling like you've been talked down to. Director Duncan Jones, who has only one other feature film under his belt (Moon staring Sam Rockwell), does an impressive job of shooting what is essentially the same scene several times, adding a different spin to each take.

Of course I can't review the film without talking about the performances. Here is where I am torn because I want to tell you that Jake did a great job. But I also don't want you to think I'm just saying that. He really did do a great job, my personal feelings for him aside. I honestly think this film wouldn't work so well without him. Or at least without someone who is able to be likable but also a little weird, and funny but also able to convey emotion. Jake does all of these things effortlessly. If thinking that makes me biased, well I guess my potential new career is down the toilet. But I think you'll agree that liking, or at the very least being on the side of, Capt Stevens is kinda essential to the film. 

My friend who accompanied me to the film thought it was predictable. I guess I'd agree with that to some extent but then I don't think Source Code ever labled itself as a mystery? *Spoiler Alert* I personally found the predictability to be a blessing as the ending I was hoping for whilst watching the film, is the ending I got. *End Spoiler* What did surprise me was the emotion of the movie. The last couple of scenes especially. And how grounded in reality the characters were, despite the fantasy setting. Cast wise, I felt it was a pity that both Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga had little to do in their supporting roles as both were superb. I don't see how the script could have allowed their characters to do more but it was still unfortunate that their roles were so limited.

A film that stands apart from anything else on general release. Source Code will draw you in with it's premise but keep you hooked with it's humanity. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 1st April 2011

UK Release Date - 1st April 2011

Cast Overview:

Jake Gyllenhaal ~ Captain Colter Stevens

Michelle Monaghan ~ Christina Warren

Vera Farmiga ~ Colleen Goodwin

Jeffrey Wright ~ Dr Rutledge

Michael Arden ~ Derek Frost

Director ~ Duncan Jones

Writer ~ Ben Ripley

The Lincoln Lawyer

http://www.thelincolnlawyermovie.com/

  

I was so surprised that reliable sources of mine were recommending a Matthew McConaughey film, I had to see it for myself. Could the rumors be true? Could McConaughey actually be starring in a good film once again?

Putting faith in those I trust, I convinced my cinema buddy to come to the last showing of The Lincoln Lawyer at Cineworld before the influx of new films came out on Friday. It was a late showing, something I don't usually go in for on a school night, but I had to know if it was any good. A happy surprise came when we bumped into two friends, who happened to be seeing the same film, whilst we were purchasing our tickets.

We took our seats and were drawn into the story of lawyer Mick Haller (McConaughey), who essentially uses a Lincoln car (hence the title) as his office. His most recent case sees him defending rich kid Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), who's been arrested for assaulting a prostitute. Roulet insists he's innocent and being set up so that the prostitute can get her hands on his fortune. Whilst trying to prove Roulet's innocence Mick stumbles upon some evidence which may clear one of his previous clients, Jesus Martinez (Michael Peña), who's currently doing time for a crime it seems he may not have committed.

I was relieved to say that I agreed with the people who recommended The Lincoln Lawyer (I don't have to disown them!) as I really quite enjoyed it. The film moves at a steady pace and has enough twists and turns to stop the boredom normally induced by courtroom dramas.

McConoughey hasn't done a film this good, or in which he is this good, for a long time. As far as serious films go, I'd say it was probably A Time To Kill (his big break movie with Sandra Bullock) when he was last as good as this. Worryingly he also played a lawyer in that movie. Maybe that speaks volumes about the career path he should have taken instead of being an actor, as he seems most at home playing this kind of character? Or maybe it just says that he should take more serious roles and stop making the dreadful rom-coms which have littered his filmography for the last 10 years. He's not a bad actor, as he proves here, he's just made bad choices.

But the film is not only about McConaughey. Here he is sharing the screen with an equally good cast. I'm talking about the ever watchable Marisa Tomei, the excellent William H. Macy and the surprisingly good Ryan Phillippe, alongside supporting roles filled by Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña and Francis Fisher. An all round excellent cast. So maybe McConaughey is only as good as the fellow actors who populate his films? Whatever it is, it works here. 

A gripping courtroom drama that showcases the talents of some of Hollywood's finest. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 31st March 2011

UK Release Date - 18th March 2011

Cast Overview:

Matthew McConaughey ~ Mick Haller

Marisa Tomei ~ Maggie McPherson

Ryan Phillippe ~ Louis Roulet

William H. Macy ~ Frank Levin

Josh Lucas ~ Ted Minton

John Leguizamo ~ Val Valenzuela

Michael Peña ~ Jesus Martinez

Bob Gunton ~ Cecil Dobbs

Francis Fisher ~ Mary Windsor

Director ~ Brad Furman

Writer(s) ~ John Romano (Screenplay) and Michael Connelly (Novel)